Priority Number 10 Efficiencies – Delivering and developing governance, performance management and accountability to the local community

Outcomes:  15

Evidence
It is recognised that the development of SOAs is work in progress, and a ‘developmental process’.  At this stage in the process, there is a need to consider how the development of partnership governance, performance management and accountability to local communities can be built into the SOA itself together with appropriate progress measures and targets. 
In terms of efficiency, the Scottish Government has set targets for public services to become more efficient year on year. Agencies are also facing pressures from demographic changes which are increasing the demand for services to care for the elderly and vulnerable in our community. The UK recently entered recession and it is clear that this will result in further constraints on public expenditure.  The UK government has announced that funding for Scottish public services will be reduced by £500 million in 2010/11 and the impact of this reduction on individual authorities and agencies is currently unquantified.
Relevance to National Outcome   15 
Public services need to reduce costs by increasing efficiency if we are to minimise the impact on service users.
Progress & Achievements in 2008-9
The Council publishes an annual efficiency statement and for 2007/08   £ 1.45m of efficiencies were identified (£2.55m 2006/07).
The Council is using the national toolkit which was developed by the Improvement service during 2008/09. This work has identified potential efficiency savings of £4.4 million per annum and the Council has committed significant additional resources to progress detailed design and implementation plans. This programme is part of a wider modernisation agenda called “Moray Performs”. Under this agenda the Council is also implementing the Public Sector Improvement Framework, Workforce Planning and an improved Performance Management Framework

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